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Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame 2017 Class

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum announced http://msfame.com/news-updates/the-mississippi-sports-hall-of-fame-museum-announces-the-class-of-2017/">the 2017 Hall of Fame class today. As usual, the class features some of the best athletes, coaches and people involved with sports in the state of Mississippi.

The 2017 class features arguably the greatest sports writer in Mississippi history, Rick Cleveland. The son of Ace Cleveland, who was a great sports writer in his own right, Rick Cleveland began writing in grade school and went on to become a seven-time Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year.

Cleveland covered sports in high school and college for the Hattiesburg American. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, he went to work for The Clarion-Ledger until retiring in 2012.

Most recently, Cleveland was executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. He has recently returned to writing sports for Mississippi Today, and he has authored four books.

Joining Cleveland is one of the greatest football players in Mississippi history who never became one of the greatest football players ever. Marcus Dupree was a man among boys during his days at Philadelphia High School.

Dupree finished his high-school career with 5,284 yards and 87 touchdowns, which broke Herschel Walker’s national high-school record for touchdowns. He ended up choosing the University of Oklahoma over every other college in the nation.

While at Oklahoma, Dupree was Fiesta Bowl MVP and first-team All-Big Eight as a freshman. After butting heads with then-Sooners coach Barry Switzer, he decided to transfer to USM but left after being told he would have to sit out due to a NCAA transfer rule.

Dupree decided to leave college for the United States Football League and signed with the New Orleans Breakers.

The running back eventually found his way to the NFL, but injuries have robbed him of his physical gifts, and he never was the player he could have been. Dupree was the subject of ESPN’s “30 for 30” Series: “The Best That Never Was” and Willie Morris’ book “The Courting of Marcus Dupree.”

Jay Powell has been a winner at every level of baseball. He won a state championship at West Lauderdale High School, a starter and relief pitcher at Mississippi State University and won game seven of the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins.

When he left MSU, Powell was second on the school's all-time list with 17. The Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the first round of the 1993 MLB Draft, and he ended up playing for five different clubs during his 11-year career.

Since retiring from MLB, he returned home to become head coach at Jackson Academy. He has added a state championship as a coach to his collection.

The tiny town of Florence, Miss. produced the winningest baseball coach in SWAC history. Bob Braddy ended his career with an 824-546-3 record, as he guided Jackson State University from NAIA to Division I baseball.

Braddy won 12 SWAC championships, and his teams appeared in four NCAA Regional tournaments. He saw 52 of his players sign professional contracts, and two were first-round draft picks.

Baseball wasn’t the only place where Braddy devoted his ability as a leader. He was the Tigers athletic director from 2006 to 2011. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2016.

Leslie Frazier was a three-sport star at Stephen D. Lee High School in Columbus, Miss. He starred in football, basketball and baseball, and earned nine letters, three in each sport, during his high-school career.

Frazier chose Alcorn State University to play college football and baseball. He was named All-SWAC in both sports.

The Chicago Bears signed Frazier after his college career, and he went on to win Super Bowl XX with the team. His career was cut short when he suffered a knee injury during the Super Bowl win.

He began his coaching career at Trinity College, now known as Trinity International University. He worked his way to coaching in the NFL, winning his second Super Bowl ring with the Indianapolis Colts and ironically by beating the Bears.

Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 to 2013. He is currently a defensive-backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

The final inductee, Eugenia Conner, will enter the hall posthumously. The former Mississippi Miss Basketball from Harrison Central High School passed away in 1994 at the age of 30 of a heart attack. She led Harrison Central to four consecutive 2A State Championships before deciding to play for the University of Mississippi. She was named All-SEC four straight years and led the Rebels to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Conner went on to play in Europe, since there wasn’t a WNBA in the United States at the time. She returned home to Gulfport before her untimely death.

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Induction weekend will be held August 4-5, 2017.

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